Dashain in Darjeeling

Dashain runs for fifteen days in the lunar month of Ashwin, usually in late September or October, and honours the goddess Durga's victory over evil. For the Gorkha families who make up most of the hill population, it matters as much for family as for worship. Schools and offices close, people who work in Siliguri, Kolkata or further away come home, and the hills fill with visitors at the same time, since Durga Puja falls in the same days for Bengal.

The festival starts on Ghatasthapana, when a household sows barley or maize in a pot of sand and soil kept in a dark corner of the prayer room. The yellow shoots that grow over nine days are the jamara. On the tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, elders mix rice, yoghurt and red colour into tika, press it on the foreheads of younger family members, tuck jamara behind their ears and give blessings and a little money. Visits continue for days until the full moon.

Food is the other half of Dashain. Families make sel roti, the ring-shaped rice bread, along with meat curries, achar and sweets, and markets in Darjeeling and Kalimpong sell new clothes, marigolds and goats. For travellers it is a lively time but also a crowded one: shared jeeps fill fast and many local shops close on the main tika days. Dates follow the lunar calendar; check current status before you travel.